


La Vie en Paris

by aneclipsedhabitue



Category: A Passionate Woman, Spies of Warsaw
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M, Teninch Fic, relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-23
Updated: 2016-12-23
Packaged: 2018-09-11 12:44:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8980255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aneclipsedhabitue/pseuds/aneclipsedhabitue
Summary: Alsace woods, a rat, a chevalier Mercier and a courageuse Betty. (I tried)





	

**Author's Note:**

> 2 days before Christmas..I'm sorry this isn't very holiday-ish. I'll see if I can write something!
> 
> So...I really do love Mercier and Betty as I imagine a lot of people do. First off let me say that we all have Lostinfic to thank for. She is the real connoisseur of this illustrious and wonderful Teninch fic pairing. In fact, I’m even a bit scared to post this because I know that I could never begin to compare to her, but still, I implore you all to look through her blog and learn more about them! 
> 
> I wrote this because I wanted to see if I could. Simple as that. I imagined a cabin, the woods, a rat, and then the rest sort of came together. Please try and imagine that neither Anna or Craze ever happened. A complete AU. 
> 
> How this piece looks and whether or not it worked is really up to you, but I hope you enjoy.

  
Jean-François wiped sweat from his brow as he axed the rest of the tree down. Deep within the forest, he was chopping trees to make wood for the fire.

Betty was inside their cabin. It was her idea to go.

_She had seen how grueling his work had become. She saw the bags under his eyes, the grumbles he would mutter before sulking to the office and she noticed dejectedly, his lack of enthusiasm when he made love to her. Unable to truly find his release, but never abstaining her from her own. Idle kisses and strokes until she lay trembling under him._

However in her heart Betty knew that something had to change. Her relationship with Jean-François could not survive unless they were both happy.

One night as he sat at his desk gruelling over some paperwork, she swayed in wearing the expensive lingerie that she felt she did not deserve, straddled his legs and made him forget a war had ever occurred. As tears streamed down her face as she kissed his neck she begged him to take her away, to take her away to somewhere that he can find himself again.

“Please Jean-François. Let’s go away, yeah? Your work is makin’ you all barmy and I can’t stand to see you like this. Please. You’re so unhappy luv, and it makes me so sad, and I miss you so much. I miss how you was..with me. Please, remind me why I belong to you.”

Silencing her rambling as he groaned with his lips firmly pressed into hers as he found his relief while buried in the warmth of her heat. He wiped her tears away and whispered, “Yes, _mon ange._ ”

So away he took her to his estate, in Alsace. Taking a leave without pay, the minute they left their work behind they felt that it seemed the sun rose just for them. Soon enough they fell into a routine. She baked him pies and he made her laugh again. Mercier eventually understood that she was right, his Betty. She knew him better than anyone. He realized that right now he was living the happiest days of his life.

He continued chopping the tree when he heard her distressed voice from inside the house. Her screams carried to Mercier through the oaks and over the sound of the ax hitting on the crumbling wood. He dropped the axe and sprinted to the house to find Betty squatting on top of the counter in the kitchen. Her head between her drawn up legs and her arms wrapped around them as she stared in horror at the floor.

“What?” He panted

“I was cooking bread for you when a rat ran by me feet”

Mercier stared at the dough near the sink and then at Betty ascended a meter above the floor. His eyes crinkled as his mouth grew into a wide grin, “Betty,” he was trying to stop from laughing, ”why are you on top of the counter?”

“I told you!” She whined. “A rat ran by, I saw it by me feet. It’s huge and I heard it squeak. Can you get it?”

“Yes, but why are on _top_ of the counter?”

“Getting away from it!” Her brow furrowed unhappily. “Can you quit starin’ at me and take care of it please?”

Mercier walked over to the counter and picked Betty up. She grabbed his neck but didn’t let her feet touch the ground. He hugged her to him and kissed her with enormous affection and told her, “ _Mon ange_ , you silly girl. Mice can climb.”

Betty paled under his tender gaze and she groaned, “Ah jeez, you’re right. I knew that. Of course I did, I jus’ forgot” she hugged herself to him and he smiled.

They remained like that. Betty wrapped around him like a koala and in a comfortably awkward silence until Betty mumbled into his shirt, “Jean-François?”

“Mm?”

“You’re not getting’ food in this house until that thing is gone.”

He chuckled and carried her outside and then went back for the breakfast. They ate on a bench side by side. Mercier turned to her curiously, “Betty, are you frightened of mice?”

She nodded, “Did you kill it when you went back in?”

“No. You have never told me that you’re scared of mice. Why?”

“Why I’m scared of them or why I didn’t tell ya?”

“Both.”

“I dunno, I just am. Little buggers just give me the creeps and I didn’t think me fear of mice would ever come up in conversation.”

Mercier couldn’t take it anymore. He nearly choked on his piece of bread as he started laughing heartily.

“Go ahead and laugh, I‘m here for your amusement.”  
  
His laughter died down and a warm tenderness grew within him. He set his plate down and took hers from her hands. He brought her to him to stand between his legs. “Do you know how funny you are?” he looked up at her and hugged her tighter, “ _Je t'adore_.”

“If that’s true,” she smiled but tried to wiggle her way out of his hold, failing, “you’d get rid of it instead of teasin’ me.” She kissed the top of his head.

Mercier stood up smiling, “It is impossible for me not to tease the one I love.” He said as he stood and kissed her swiftly.

After Mercier went inside, a giggling Betty cleared up their food. In a few minutes he emerged from the cabin holding his pistol in one hand and holding the the tail of the swinging dead rat. “How did I do Betty?”

Betty failed to keep from cringing, “All right all right I didn’t need to see it.”

Mercier laughed, “In all fairness this was a rather large mouse.” he walked past her, she staggered away. He snorted and headed towards the woods and he threw the creature away.

After he returned Betty wrapped her arms around him, “Thank you.”

“Of course.”

“I do feel a bit bad though. Poor little disgusting thing.” She crinkled her nose.

Mercier rolled his eyes affectionately, “Oh Betty” he kissed the top of her head

“It was big thing though wasn’t it?”

“Very large indeed.” He winked.

Wrapped around each other they walked back into the cabin, where they would resume the happiest days of their lives.

Later that night the sky was dark, the crickets were chirping, the only glow of a weakening fire illuminated the room.

Mercier was engrossed in a book, Betty was in the kitchen clearing and humming a Charles Trénet tune, she had learned to admire French music from Jean-François.

Betty sauntered into the room feeling brave, and she climbed into his lap. “No no, please don’t stop reading,” she purred and snuggled into him, “I’m freezin” she curled into his chest. Enfolding her in his arms, Mercier resumed reading his book but only a few words were getting through because the warmth radiating off of her was intoxicating. Her silky brown curls were rubbing against his neck, making his throat close. Mercier listened to her breathing, it was hypnotic in its rhythm. He set his book down and looked down at her, Betty’s eyes were closed.

An aching tenderness engulfed him. She was so beautiful. He sat, not moving, inhaling her intoxicating feminine aroma. She seemed to fit so perfectly into him, he simply couldn’t understand. His heart like a jackhammer in his chest. He took a breath to calm himself as he reveled in the feeling of her on top of him. He wanted to squeeze her closer but didn’t want to do anything to wake her up, she was a light sleeper and he knew once she woke up she would get off of him.

Minutes passed. Warm and breathless minutes, time seemed to slow.

Oh, Betty. My Betty. How could I have let my work get in the way of my devotion to you? Mercier closed his eyes in shame. Silently he decided, no more. From now on his one and only priority would  
nothing but her. Nothing but making sure that she is as happy as she can, the last thing in the world Jean-François Mercier would ever want to do is to make his love unhappy.

A short quake went through her and she opened her eyes. She blinked slowly, “Oh, did I fall asleep?”

“Shh,” he whispered, “don’t get up.”

“How long have I been here?” She wiped her eyes.

“Not nearly long enough. Stay on top of me.” She shook her head and tried to squirm but he tightened his grip, “No please _mon ange_ , stay. Stay and sleep on me. I’ll hold you all night.”

She giggled and tickled his neck with the top of her head. They sat. His grip on her had not faltered. “Well,” she asked, “what now?”

“We are going to sit here.” He ran his fingers through her hair.

Her fingers caressed his neck, soon replaced by her lips she nuzzled him. Her hips nestled into his lap. “Jean-François, what’s wrong? What’s the matter?” her pained voice whispered. She noticed his bleak eyes and her heart fell.

“My dear Betty,” he pouted and looked deep in her eyes, “I am so happy, yet I know to you it seems I’ve never been more miserable. Please understand that you with your wings of joy, lift me out of my darkness. You carry so much weight on you and I am so heavy. I am so sorry that I’ve been a pain. I let my work get to me when I should have been focused on you. I’m sorry, that wasn’t my intention.”

“Jean-François-”

“No please,” he kissed her lips, “let me finish. You are fire. Golden. Unstoppable. You’ve become so brave since when I first met you. If it hadn’t been for you waking me out of my _ennui_ state, we wouldn’t be here right now. Understand that nothing can weigh you down, especially not me. You are my warrior ”

I don’t understand.” She whispered, her eyes brimming with tears. Before Jean-François she had never received such encouraging words.

“I love you. Betty, I love you and I promise to be better. I will be better. You’ve put up with so many hardships, well, not anymore. I swear as long as there is breath in my body I will keep you safe, warm and happy.”

Betty smiled, looked down and blushed. She sniffled back tears as she ran her fingers across his lips, “ _Mon ange_ ,” she whispered bravely, he beamed at her. “Let me make you happy.”

“I _am_ happy.”

“Even happier.” She smiled wickedly.

Whenever Mercier and Betty roughhoused in play she could be as aggressive as a cheetah. He would laugh as she would tackle him to the ground and their game of tag in the forest took a passionate turn.

However during their love making, it took a lot to get her to be more aggressive with him. “Press harder” he would tell her, “Move faster. Please Betty, you don’t have to be so tender with me.”

“Jean-François…” The fire burning the wood he chopped earlier flickered all around them, the whole cabin seemed so much warmer.

She stroked his face with her gentle fingers, then moved to stroke his upper arms where she rested. “I love your arms. I like when you hold me” She met his gaze.

His eyes softened and he caressed her cheek, “I will hold you with them now,” he kissed her brow, “tomorrow” he kissed her nose, “ and until the end of time, _mon ange_.” He kissed her lips.

She smiled and caressed his stomach and chest with shaky and frail fingers. Tears formed in her eyes. “Thank you..I love you too, Jean-François. I just can’t take it.”

 _She_ couldn’t take it? He closed his eyes and grasped her head between his hands.

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, it is a bit out of character for Jean-François to put work before his lover as even in his show he proposed to quit his job for the woman he loves. However know that in this story, despite me not writing it, his actions were never intentional. 
> 
> And Betty, ah, I owe being able to finally watch A Passionate Woman to Lena too! Isn’t she a godsend? I like writing her brave. Fierce. As adorable as Betty’s shyness is and how I imagine that her shyness is what would attract Jean-François to her in the first place, imagine them together for quite a while now.
> 
>  
> 
> Thank you for reading this! Thank you so much!!


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